022

022

Gaia
"Will you at least tell us what we're celebrating?" Alyssa frowned, her long manicured nails making a dull tune on the booth's table. “I'm literally dying of curiosity here."

"Why can't you be like Tate?" I stuck out my tongue while brandishing a tray of champagne, scotch, whiskey and a couple of glasses on my right hand. I set them down in front of the duo staring back at me. “He's just sitting there and being gentle, which is strange by the way. Are you okay?"

"I'd do anything to get free booze and not get beaten into a pulp by you." He smirked, twirling a champagne flute in his hand. “And if it means being quiet till your big announcement, then so be it.”

"Coward." Alyssa reached for his head but he ducked, almost knocking over our drinks. “If you break any of these, I'll kill you before Gaia does."

"Will you two stop fighting?" I beamed, my butt coming in contact with the plush cushions in the common room. I glanced at the clock way up and twelve am in blue neon lights flashed back at me.

The perfect time for my big news...

"We will if you tell us what this is about." Alyssa groaned. She was growing impatient and I was enjoying it, to be honest. “We're supposed to be patrolling the building right now, right,Tate?"

"Chill out Aly." Tate cooed. “We're probably the only ones in here and who in their right senses would want to break into a place like this? So just relax and let Gaia get her announcement over with."

"Thank you, Tate." I smirked." I never thought you were this sensible."

"I'm not." He grinned. “I'm just gassing you up so you can let the cat out of the bag as quickly as possible, and I can get drunk in peace."

"Asshole." I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, you know how I was in a bad mood the other time we met?"

"Yeah." A sober look crossed Alyssa's face. “And you ghosted us again for another week."

"I know." I sighed. “And I'm sorry about that. I was just going through something and I didn't want to bother you guys with it..."

"That's why we're here duhh." Tate drawled, a sincere look in his eyes. “Yeah, you annoy the shit out of us, me especially, but it doesn't mean we'd abandon you. We're here for you,anytime you need us."

"Awwww." Alyssa cooed. “Now Gaia, please get to the point. What are we celebrating?"

"I did it!" I grabbed the huge champagne bottle and popped it's cork, spilling white foam over the glasses. “I finally completed my task. Cassian's finally accepted me to be his TA!”

"Congrats girl." Alyssa and I clinked glasses, while Tate frowned. He just sat there, twirling the bubbly liquid in his glass, his gaze fixed on something only he could see, obviously. “Tate?"

"Hmm." He hummed, not moving his eyes still trained on whatever it was he was looking at. “I'm fine."

"I didn't ask you anything." Alyssa threw me a worried glance and I shrugged. “What's wrong with you? Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

"Yeah, congrats." He quipped monotonously, downing his drink in one go. “I have to go, I'll see you both later."

"No way." I jerked out of my seat, stopping him before he could reach the door. “What is wrong with you Tate?"

"Nothing." He shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes roaming everywhere but mine. “I have somewhere else to be, so if you'll excuse me..."

"You do this everytime. Every fucking time!" I balled my hands into fists. "Any time I bring you news about my new mission with Cassian you just shut down and leave."

"You're on name calling basis now?" He drawled humourlessly, “Wow. I didn't know that.”

"What the fuck is your problem,Tate?"
My hands grazed his lapels, pulling him closer. His eyes widened, either from my sudden reaction or the close proximity between us, I wasn't quite sure. “I'm not letting you go till you tell me exactly what's going on."

"Um, calm down, Gaia." Alyssa squirmed out of her seat and rushed to my side. Her dainty hands did nothing to slacken my hold on Tatum. “Just take a deep breath and we can settle this amicably like adults, right Tatum?"

"There's nothing to discuss." Tatum laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She finally became his TA, hurray. That's more dick time for you."

"What!?" I stumbled backwards, his words hitting me square in the chest. The tension in the air could be sliced with a butcher's knife and it still wouldn't make a difference. “What did you just say?"

"Look, Gaia," Tatum ran a hand through his hair, obviously regretting his choice of words. “I, I ..."

But he never finished his sentence as my fist came in contact with his jaw, a sickening crunch filling the room. My knuckles stung before I'd registered what I'd just done. The crunch echoed between us as Tatum's hand went to his jaw, and for a second, the world just stopped.

Until I broke it again, that is.

"What the fuck did you just say?" A small part of me had thought punching him would make me feel better, but all I felt right now was rage,hot and primal.

"Gaia, relax." Alyssa strained to get my hands behind me. My hands were trembling and I could barely make out Tatum rubbing his jaw and wincing. “Please, he didn't mean it."

"Who the fuck gave him the right to say that?" I struggled against Alyssa's grip that was tightening by the second. “What in the world?"

"I deserve that." I heard him wince. “That was uncalled for, I shouldn't have said that...."

"You think?" I broke free from Alyssa's grip, landing a kick to his guts. He reeled backwards, colliding with the table and knocking a few glasses off the table. “You think just because you're my friend you have the right to run your big and dirty mouth...."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Our heads snapped to the door creaking open, with Chief's head popping inside. “What's going on here?"

"Um, nothing sir." Alyssa stood in between Tatum and I, her eyes pleading with me to pause the violence for later. “We were just playing a drinking game. Right guys?"

"Right." I huffed, glaring daggers at Tatum who still couldn't meet my eyes . "We'll definitely get back to it later."

"So what brings you here chief?" Alyssa beamed, flashing a bright smile. “We didn't think you'd still be in by now."

"I was actually heading out when I heard you all in here." Chief strolled in, his eyes scanning the room. His eyebrows creased as he took in my appearance. There was no way to confirm, but I was sure I was red as hell. “Are you okay, kid?"

That was the first time he'd actually spoken to me in weeks, and I felt my anger disseminate immediately.

"I'm fine Chief." I sighed, rubbing my temple. “I just have a slight headache."

"Did I interrupt something?" Chief cleared his throat awkwardly. “I guess you were celebrating something."

"Actually, Gaia just completed her latest task." My head whipped to Tatum's direction. I didn't know if he was being sincere or not, but he was definitely stepping on my toes. “So we were just celebrating."

This guy was so dead after this.....

"Kid!!" Chief's arms wrapped around me, his all too familiar scent overwhelming me. “Weren't you going to tell me?"

"I was..." He cut me off, smiling brightly and I couldn't help but return it, a slight happiness tugging at my chest.

"This calls for a celebration!" Chief strode to the table and poured himself some Scotch.

"What?" He sipped slowly, eyes questioning us from the rim of his glass. “Haven't you seen a man drinking before?"

"But,but, but." Alyssa stuttered, clearly at a loss for words. “You're the Chief, aren't you supposed to be against drinking in the academy?"

"Technically, yes." He shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “But look around you. We're closed, no one's in and we're all family here."

"Wow." Tatum drawled, grinning widely. I wished I'd punched him harder, so hard that opening his filthy mouth would hurt. “I never knew you had it in you Chief."

"Don't sass me, young man." Chief quipped and Alyssa snorted, the tension in the room disappearing gradually. “If you don't drink, I'll cut your paycheck."

"What are we waiting for?" Tatum raised his glass to the air. “To Gaia!"

"To Gaia!"

The sound of my name echoed all around me, and I would be lying if I said it didn't make it any harder to remain mad. Maybe, just maybe I could forget about Tatum's dick move and focus on what really mattered.

The rest of the night passed by in a blur of drinks, and before long, it was time for it to actually come to an end.

The leaves crunched underneath my boots as I took slow and calculated steps on the walkway. The night was quiet, with just a few birds hooting in the distance. My foot slid on a pebble and I stumbled forwards, barely catching myself before I'd kiss the ground.

Maybe I was a bit drunk....

Alyssa had offered to drive me home, but I'd declined. I needed to think straight, to clear my head. Tatum's words rang clearly in my head, simultaneously causing my heart to ache too. Yeah, we disagreed on topics like Cassian and other stuff, but that statement was just plain wrong.

"Who's there?" Jet black strands of hair whipped against my face as I turned abruptly, trying to locate the source of the sound that'd interrupted my monologue. “Show yourself."

Silence. Silence and the howling wind was what I got. The street was deserted, with most of the streetlights flickering on and off. I continued my journey to my house after moments of being greeted with nothing.

Snap. Another sound filled my ears as the hairs on my neck stood still. I sunk deeper into my leather jacket this time, an unnatural chill washing over me. I scanned the area again but nothing caught my eye. Shaking off my not so subtle paranoia, I increased my footsteps, since my house just a couple minutes away.

More footsteps seemed to inch closer as I marched towards my house. I wanted to believe it was my drunken state that was playing mind games on me, but deep down I knew I was being followed. Or watched at least.

My thumping heart seemed to slow to it's normal pace as I rounded the corner and bounded up the little steps leading to my front porch. I took one last glance at my surroundings before slipping inside, definitely not missing the silhouetted figure hunched behind a tree across the street..

Yeah, something was definitely up.